27.7.17

An 18-year-old new father was arrested after dumping his 16-day-old son at a northern California strip mall to sit abandoned in the summer sun.

Daniel Mitchell was spotted on surveillance video leaving the newborn at the Sunset Shopping Center in Suisun City on Monday afternoon, police said.

The recording shows a gold Toyota pulling into a parking space at the mall at 3:07 p.m. A man — who police said was Mitchell — gets out and opens the driver-side backdoor.

He then removes a baby carrier, sets it down and gets back in the car.

The Toyota then pulls away after about a minute — leaving the car seat in the sun.

Less than a half-minute later, four men emerged from a barber shop and took the baby out of the blazing sun.

Erick Keeton, who worked in the barber shop, told local NBC affiliate KCRA he picked the car seat up, brought the baby inside and called the cops.

"I noticed he had his binky, he was wrapped up in a blanket," Keeton said. "He had a diaper on and he appeared to be fine. His tongue was a little white, maybe like he just had a bottle recently."

Police brought the child to a hospital in neighboring city of Fairfield. He was then brought to a hospital in Oakland — about 45 miles away — when abnormalities were noticed in his eye, KCRA reported.

The infant — now in the custody of Child Protective Services — is in critical but stable condition, officials said.

As cops were investigating the scene at the strip mall, Mitchell was involved in a hit-and-run in Fairfield. He was later arrested and brought to the hospital for injuries he received in the collision, police said.

Suisun City investigators spoke with him at the hospital and confirmed he was the boy’s father.

Mitchell was charged with child endangerment, child abandonment, committing a felony while on bail and misdemeanor possession of suspected cocaine, officials said.

The infant’s mother gave a statement to police, who don’t believe she was involved with the incident.

Mitchell’s bail was set at $500,000 and is due back in court Wednesday.

Only a month ago he was arrested in Suisun City and charged with possession of a firearm after we was suspected of being involved in a burglary, cops said.